Khylari
The Khylari are a nomadic culture of merchants and warriors. The Khylari sailed in from the East, and made landfall on the fertile plains of Darrowmere, bringing with them jewellery, gems, new weaponry, strange customs, and even a whole new language. This group of people are highly religious, although their beliefs are being challenged by their experiences with this new world they've stumbled upon. Physical Appearance The Khylari were the inhabitants of what they refer to as 'the Endless Desert', and as a result the vast majority of them are browned and tanned. The Khylari have dark brown hair for the most part, however men will most usually shave their hair completely, whilst women prefer to let it cascade over their shoulders, and then hook back up at the center of the chest. The Khylari wear colourful linen clothing, which denote their ranking in their very strict social hierarchy. This social hierarchy also determines physical appearance. The warrior caste are lean, tall and muscular, their eyes for the most part a dark brown. The merchant caste on the other hand are fat and short, their eyes an astounding green or blue. Finally, the peasantry and slaves are some amalgamation of the two, given that they are a grouping of those who have fallen from those castes. The genetic traits of each caste stay within that caste, as marriage between castes is forbidden. Attitude: The great majority of the Khylari are reasonably friendly, with the biggest exception being the Myra and the Kai. Their nomadic nature has taught them to rely on others, and once you win their trust, they will help you as best they can for as long as you need. However this is a new land, and as such they can be quite suspicious of other's motives, making it hard to achieve that level of trust. The specific nature of the Khylari depends on which caste the person is in. An Ila will be greedy (if well-meaning) as that is how they have been brought up, just as a Kai will be domineering and arrogant, since they have experience with being so amongst their own people. Culture and Religion The Khylari's culture revolves around their social hierarchy and their leader, the Myra. The Myra is their prophet, and is of pale skin, distinguishing him from the others of his group. His word is law, and nobody may harm him without fear of incurring the wrath of their gods. The Myra is their only link between their gods, the Four Dragons of the Sands, and the people, and as such he is given all that he and his family might ever want. The Myra is a hereditary position, and once the current Myra has passed on, their successor takes their place. The Myra never reveals their gender, and as such may be either boy or girl, depending upon which of the Myra's children received the trait of white skin. The Khylari are a nomadic people, and their culture reflects that. They remain in one place only long enough to extract the minerals from the ground, and replenish their food and water supplies, then move on to the next spot in their desert. Their caravans in their homeland were immense, stretching miles back from the front, and the position a member of the Khylari had in this immense caravan was determined by their caste in the social hierarchy, which is as follows: Myra ~ The Myra and their family are the top, and control the whole of the Khylari. Their word is law. Kai ~ The Kai are the warriors of the Khylari, and retain most of the positions of power after the Myra. Lean and tall, the Kai are very distinctive. Both men and women in this caste are trained in swordsmanship and fighting, and will grow up to guard the caravan against attack. The best warriors become Myra'a'Kai, Guards of the Myra, the highest position any Kai can obtain. Ila ~ The Ila'Mer are the merchants and traders of the Khylari, and are the richest caste. They are not as highly respected as the Kai, however still control a large amount of power through bribery of those Kai in high positions. The Ila'Mer are short and fat. Their children are taught in the art of mathematics and enterprise from a young age. Elni ~ The Elni are the peasantry and slave class, and are considered dirt to both the Ila and the Kai. The Elni end up doing the majority of the hard work, such as mining, farming, construction and craftsmanship, with the majority of the fruits of their trade going to the higher castes. Some Elni are old members of the higher castes who broke a law, and fell from grace, however the majority are simple peasants. Some other basic words in the Khylari Tongue are as follows: Armour and Weapons The Khylari have a distinct style of craftsmanship which has made it's way into changing the very appearance of their tools, armour, weaponry and clothing. Their lack of some materials has changed this even further, so that many of their possessions are remarkably different to those that we now here in Elysion. In terms of weaponry, the Khylari utilise a curved sword and an immensely large shield, which serves the dual purpose of protecting them from attacks, and also serving as some sort of shelter during sandstorms. The curved sword i expressly designed to only be sharp along one edge, which allows it to be used as a club if needed. Their armour is crafted through a process of layering linen over and over again and plastering it down, leaving it loose enough to not hinder movement, or trap grains of sand, but also thick enough to sustain at least one blow from a typical Khylari sword. The final weapon they use is the javelin. Essentially a pointed stick, the Khylari will use it from the cover of their caravans when faced with a threat, and then after having hailed the opponent with these large missiles, will then charge in and hack and slash them to bits.